Team Octane @ 3 Rivers (2013)

Steve · Aug 12, 2013

5 podiums! (if I counted right)

In the first race Sallenbach qualified on pole in TC and finished the race 2nd while Lauziere both qualified and finished 3rd in B-Spec.

In the second race Sallenbach won and Tester-Mabe took 3rd in TC while Lauziere took another 3rd in B-Spec.

The Canadian Touring Car Championship (CTCC) presented by Continental Tire raced this weekend at the Grand Prix de Trois-RiviÃ¨res in front of a huge crowd. CTCC was featured on Friday for the exciting night race tradition and on Sunday morning. Drivers anticipated the weekend, GP3R is always great racing.

Drivers had a practice session on Friday morning. CTCC pilots were ready to entertain the crowd with an impressive grid, 31 cars took the green flag all trying to be faster than the others. They took their time to adapt to each corner of the track.

Back on the track on Friday afternoon for the qualifying session, Scott Nicol encountered engine issues. In order to be able to participate in that same dayâ€™s race, he borrowed a competitorâ€™s car in hope of still getting some points to stay in the game for the championship. In Super Class, Mathieu Audette took pole position in his No. 12 Acura RSX Type S, with his brother RÃ©my Audette in second in his No. 21 Honda Civic Si. Scott Nicol qualified in third position behind the wheel of his No. 41 Honda Civic but since he would start the race with another car, he was placed last on the starting grid of Round 9. In Touring Class, Michel Sallenbach was first on the grid in the No. 46 MINI Cooper S JCW followed by Jocelyn HÃ©bert in the No. 89 Honda Civic Si. Veteran driver Normand Boyer No. 7 took pole position in B-Spec Class followed by Karl Wittmer No. 82 and in third place Alain LauziÃ¨re No. 44.

The GP3R Friday night race once again featured CTCC. The thrilling night race with the headlights and the glowing brakes is a huge hit with the race fans. Carl Nadeau driving No. 25 Mazda 2 had a mechanical issue which caused him to hit the wall, ending his race. It was a very clean race, drivers had a lot of fun and so did the fans. In Super class Mathieu Audette climbed the first step of the podium followed by Bob Attrell in second place and Alex Healy in third. In Touring Class, Jocelyn HÃ©bert worked his way up to first place just in front of Michel Sallenbach and Damon Sharpe in third place. In B-Spec Class, Karl Wittmer finished first, Normand Boyer second and Alain LauziÃ¨re third.

A second qualifying session took place on Saturday morning. Drivers had a chance to upgrade their starting position for Round 10. Pole positions were grabbed by RÃ©my Audette in Super Class, Damon Sharpe in Touring Class and Karl Wittmer In B-Spec Class.

The start of Round 10 was very exciting and fast. A few drivers had very good starts, such as Nick Wittmer had already moved up three positions when going into the second turn. Mathieu Audette had engine problems and had to abandon the race, Alex Healy was hit by another car and went into the wall but was still able to get back on the track and finish the race in 9th place. Paul Gravel and Jocelyn Fecteau were both involved in an accident, putting them both hard into the wall, drivers got out fine but their cars didnâ€™t. Exchanging places with his brother, from the previous day, RÃ©my finished first in Super Class. Second place was taken by Nick Wittmer and third place by a very happy Roger Ledoux. In Touring Class Michel Sallenbach managed to keep Jocelyn HÃ©bert behind him and got first place. â€˜â€™ I was already very happy to be part of such a great event at such a great track, to beat Jocelyn HÃ©bert on his own racetrack, it is more than I could have ever dreamed ofâ€™â€™ he stated. Jocelyn HÃ©bert completed his 18th podium in Trois-RiviÃ¨res by finishing second behind him. Carlos Tesler-Mabe was 3rd. In B-Spec Class, first position was once again won by Karl Wittmer, he was followed by Normand Boyer and Alain LauziÃ¨re.

Rounds 11 and 12 will take place on Labor Day weekend August 30-31 and 1st September at CTMP.

paddocktalk.com
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You can watch video of the first race here.

Steve · Aug 12, 2013

Overall TC class standings for the MINIs after 3 Rivers:

1st - Michel Sallenback
3rd - Eric Lacouture
4th - Carlos Tesler-Mabe
7th - Paul Gravel

In B-Spec, Alain Lauziere is holding 3rd.

In manufacturer standings, Honda leads TC with 380 points and the MINIs are 2nd, only 15 points pack, at 365.

Steve · Aug 14, 2013

Team Octane Press Release:

5 Podiums for Team Octane at Trois-RiviÃ¨res

Sallenbach regains championship lead

(MontrÃ©al, QuÃ©bec, Canada) â€“ It was a very successful weekend of racing for Team Octane and their drivers at the 44th running of Grand-Prix de Trois-RiviÃ¨res. The team brought their four MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works to the Trifluvien circuit to display the handling and braking abilities of their British-born vehicles to the enthusiastic crowds for regular drivers Michel Sallenbach, Paul Gravel, Eric Lacouture and Carlos Tesler-Mabe. Additionally, Alain LauziÃ¨re would take the wheel of the #44 B-Spec MINI Cooper for the weekend.

Sallenbach set the weekend tone early capturing the pole position ahead of local veteran Dr. Jocelyn HÃ©bert. Tesler-Mabe would get the 4th fastest time, Eric Lacouture 5th and Paul Gravel 10th. LauziÃ¨re qualified in 3rd place in B-Spec.

The first race was run under the lights and created traffic challenges with the speed differential of the 3 classes. Sallenbach had a poor start falling back to 5th position and would take all race to catch-up to leader Jocelyn HÃ©bert but ran out of time to attempt any overtaking manoeuvers and would settle for second place. Tesler-Mabe and Lacouture finished 5th and 6th while Gravel improved to 9th position. In B-Spec, LauziÃ¨re captured 3rd place after an intense battle with Nadeau who unfortunately was not able to complete the race after an encounter with the wall from a mechanical failure of his Mazda.

Sallenbach led race #2 from the drop of the green flag in an intense battle with HÃ©bert and he would capture the win after starting from the pole. The race was run under an extended yellow after teammate Gravel was involved in a heavy shunt with fellow competitor Jocelyn Fecteauâ€™s Scion after an encounter with the tire wall. Both drivers would walk-away from their cars despite the very hard impact. Tesler-Mabe ran a fantastic race capturing the last podium position, keeping his teammate Lacouture and all the agressive competition behind. LauziÃ¨re repeated with another third place position in B-Spec. The win for Sallenbach would propel him atop the points chart, 29 points ahead of his closest competitor Damon Sharpe.

The Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Continental tireâ€™s next event will be in Bowmanville ON, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport) the weekend of Aug.31-Sept 1. during the Nascar Truck weekend. The Championship competes throughout 7 weekends of racing. Details are available at CTCC: Canadian Touring Car Championship.

Team partners include MINI Canada through their generous contingency program, MINI GENUINE PARTS, Castrol, LDS Dyno, Bully Clutch, Revolution MINI Works, Perry Auto, Carrosserie Touchette, La Clinique du Pneu Granby, Lettrage Raoul, ASG Accessoire de Soudure Granby, SoCal Sport Cars, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes and Carbotech Brakes.

Contact: Alain LauziÃ¨re â€“ 450-455-2468 ([email protected])
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CHKMINI · Aug 14, 2013

I love it

Steve · Aug 16, 2013

Pics from last weekend.

Sallenbach on track:

Sallenbach taking checkers:

Tesler-Mabe on track:

Tesler-Mabe "red hot":

Sallenback & Tesler-Mabe on the podium, 1st & 3rd in TC:

Lacouture on track:

Lauziere on track (B-Spec):

Lauziere on the podium, 3rd in B-Spec:

3 Amigos: